In Carradine Death Thailand's Sex Caricature Endures

When Kung Fu star David Carradine died last Thursday, I wasn't surprised. He was 72. When I read how he'd died -- hanging naked in a closet with a rope tied around his genitals, wrist and throat -- I was surprised only at the suspected cause of death: auto-erotic asphyxiation.

The location of death, however, no shocker. Bangkok. The Thai capital isn't exactly known for the missionary position. The city and the nation are (in)famous for things recreational, not conventional.

That's more or less what I told a New York City consulting firm hired by the Royal Thai Government. The firm had phoned to interview me two months before Carradine's death. A representative explained that Thailand's policymakers wanted an assessment of the country's global image. How is Thailand viewed by foreigners and how much polish is needed to make it shine world class? Having written a book on Bangkok's famous slum priest, a cursing, blunt American Catholic known as Khun Phaw Joe ("Mister Father Joe"), my opinion apparently warranted a phone call and a modest honorarium.

Political coups and pedophilia fugitives aside, I told the interviewer, if you judge Thailand only by its beaches, luxury hotels and shimmering new $3 billion Bangkok airport (makes Washington's Dulles International look almost third world), Thailand is a jewel of Asia. Outside looking in, it should be top drawer and first world. But even the farang (foreigner) who only sees Thailand dressed in its Sunday best knows the dirt that's underneath. Carradine may have died in a closet but Thailand has no skeletons. We all know.

When I first traveled to Thailand in 2000 as a wire correspondent, the State Department described Bangkok as a hub of sex trafficking; both importer and exporter of the flesh trade. The warehouse-sized massage parlors and strip clubs that tourists support are only a fraction of Thailand's overall sex industry. In alleyways, mom-and-pop salons and long-haul truck parking lots, the locals also contribute to the nation's economy. It's why Khun Phaw Joe has built two free AIDS hospices; one for the mothers, another for the children infected in utero.

Not much had changed when I returned in 2005 to begin research on my book about Khun Phaw Joe (the Rev. Joe Maier). Ditto for when the consulting firm phoned this spring.

Welcome to the Prostitution in Thailand website, which provides neutral, objective information about the  sex trade in Thailand, one of the most famous sex tourism destinations.

Prostitution can be defined as a commercial transaction, during which sexual services as exchanged for money or other material gain. It is often called the “oldest profession,” reflecting the long history of prostitution throughout the history of humankind. Prostitution is often imagined or portrayed as a female profession, but there are many males who participate in the sex trade, whether homo-, hetero-, or bisexual.

Most major religious and ethical traditions condemn the practice of prostitution, and many countries have strict laws prohibiting or restricting the sale of sexual services. There are also many countries which have stringent laws against prostitution on paper, but do not really enforce them. Thailand is one such country, where, while prostitution is not legal, the government oversees it and tries to ensure its safety (from sexually transmitted diseases, exploitation, etc.) rather than crack down upon it.

This has made Thailand one of the most famous (some would say, infamous) sex tourism destinations in the world. (Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to a different state or country for the explicit goal of procuring sexual services for money). There are many important issues related to prostitution in general, and Thai prostitution in particular, including the safety from harassment and exploitation of the sex workers, the problem of underage prostitution (child prostitution), human trafficking (usually related to sex slavery), and HIV and AIDS. Feel free to browse through the tabs on this site to gain more information about these issues.